Notice of Request for Applications for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, 25998-25999 [2015-10287]

Download as PDF tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 25998 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 87 / Wednesday, May 6, 2015 / Notices vehicle that travels throughout the continental United States, to educate consumers about the risks associated with the mishandling of food and the steps they can take to reduce their risk of foodborne illness. Organizations can request a visit from the FSIS Food Safety Mobile, although its availability is limited. To facilitate the scheduling of the Food Safety Mobile’s visits when it is available, the Agency uses an electronic questionnaire on its Web site. The questionnaire solicits information about the person or organization requesting the visit, the timing of the visit, and the type of event at which the Food Safety Mobile is to appear. FSIS is requesting an extension of an approved information collection addressing paperwork and recordkeeping requirements regarding the Agency’s CCMS web portal and regarding its electronic Food Safety Mobile questionnaire. FSIS has made the following estimates based upon an information collection assessment. Estimate of Burden: The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average .446 hours per response. Respondents: Consumers and organizations. Estimated Number of Respondents: The CCMS web portal will have approximately 1,000 respondents. The Food Safety Mobile questionnaire will have approximately 150 respondents. Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1. Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: The total annual burden time is estimated to be around 500 hours for respondents using CCMS web portal, and 13 hours for respondents using the Food Safety Mobile questionnaire. Thus, the total annual burden time for these two systems is 513 hours. Copies of this information collection assessment can be obtained from Gina Kouba, Paperwork Reduction Act Coordinator, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA, 1400 Independence, SW., Room 6077, South Building, Washington, DC 20250, (202)690–6510. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of FSIS’s functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of FSIS’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:43 May 05, 2015 Jkt 235001 collection of information, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques, or other forms of information technology. Comments may be sent to both FSIS, at the addresses provided above, and the Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20253. Responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of public record. Additional Public Notification Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy development is important. Consequently, FSIS will announce this Federal Register publication on-line through the FSIS Web page located at: https:// www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register. FSIS also will make copies of this publication available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to provide information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS public meetings, and other types of information that could affect or would be of interest to our constituents and stakeholders. The Update is available on the FSIS Web page. Through the Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader, more diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an email subscription service which provides automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and information. This service is available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/subscribe. Options range from recalls to export information, regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can add or delete subscriptions themselves, and have the option to password protect their accounts. USDA Non-Discrimination Statement No agency, officer, or employee of the USDA shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/ parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, or political beliefs, exclude from participation in, deny the benefits of, or subject to discrimination any person in the United States under any program or activity conducted by the USDA. How To File a Complaint of Discrimination To file a complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Discrimination Complaint Form, which may be accessed online at https:// www.ocio.usda.gov/sites/default/files/ docs/2012/Complain_combined_6_8_ 12.pdf, or write a letter signed by you or your authorized representative. Send your completed complaint form or letter to USDA by mail, fax, or email: Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250–9410, Fax: (202) 690–7442, Email: program.intake@ usda.gov. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.), should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). Done at Washington, DC, on: May 1, 2015. Alfred V. Almanza, Acting Administrator. [FR Doc. 2015–10607 Filed 5–5–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE National Institute of Food and Agriculture Notice of Request for Applications for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA. AGENCY: ACTION: Notice. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is announcing the release of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). General information regarding the VMLRP can be obtained at: www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp. The Request for Applications (RFA) can be obtained at: https://nifa.usda.gov/ vmlrp-request-applications-rfa. SUMMARY: The fiscal year (FY) 2015 Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) application package will be available at: https:// nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-requestapplications-rfa. Applications must be received by June 22, 2015. DATES: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danielle Tack, VMLRP Program Manager, Program Coordinator, Institute of Food Production and Sustainability, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20024; telephone: (202) 401–6802; fax: (202) 720–6486; email: vmlrp@nifa.usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: E:\FR\FM\06MYN1.SGM 06MYN1 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 87 / Wednesday, May 6, 2015 / Notices Background and Purpose In January 2003, the National Veterinary Medical Service Act (NVMSA) was passed into law adding section 1415A to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1997 (NARETPA). This law established a new Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (7 U.S.C. 3151a) authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program of entering into agreements with veterinarians under which they agree to provide veterinary services in veterinarian shortage situations. On December 16, 2014, the President signed into law the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113–235), which appropriated $5,000,000 for the VMLRP. Section 7105 of FCEA amended section 1415A to revise the determination of veterinarian shortage situations to consider (1) geographical areas that the Secretary determines have a shortage of veterinarians; and (2) areas of veterinary practice that the Secretary determines have a shortage of veterinarians, such as food animal medicine, public health, epidemiology, and food safety. This section also added that priority should be given to agreements with veterinarians for the practice of food animal medicine in veterinarian shortage situations. NARETPA section 1415A requires the Secretary, when determining the amount of repayment for a year of service by a veterinarian to consider the ability of USDA to maximize the number of agreements from the amounts appropriated and to provide an incentive to serve in veterinary service shortage areas with the greatest need. This section also provides that loan repayments may consist of payments of the principal and interest on government and commercial loans received by the individual for the attendance of the individual at an accredited college of veterinary medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent. This program is not authorized to provide repayments for any government or commercial loans incurred during the pursuit of another degree, such as an associate or bachelor degree. Loans eligible for repayment include educational loans made for one or more of the following: loans for tuition expenses; other reasonable educational expenses, including fees, books, and laboratory expenses, incurred by the individual; and reasonable living expenses as determined by the Secretary. In addition, the Secretary is directed to VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:43 May 05, 2015 Jkt 235001 make such additional payments to participants as the Secretary determines appropriate for the purpose of providing reimbursements to participants for individual tax liability resulting from participation in this program. Finally, this section requires USDA to promulgate regulations within 270 days of the enactment of FCEA (i.e., June 18, 2008). The Secretary delegated the authority to carry out this program to NIFA. The final rule was published in the Federal Register on April 19, 2010 (75 FR 20239). Based on comments received during the 60-day comment period upon publication of the interim rule on July 9, 2009 (74 FR 32788), NIFA reconsidered the policy regarding individuals who consolidated their veterinary school loans with other educational loans (e.g., undergraduate) and their eligibility to apply for the VMLRP. NIFA will allow these individuals to apply for and receive a VMLRP award; however, only the eligible portion of the consolidation will be repaid by the VMLRP. Furthermore, applicants with consolidated loans will be asked to provide a complete history of their student loans from the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS), a central database for student aid operated by the U.S. Department of Education. The NSLDS Web site can be found at www.nslds.ed.gov. Individuals who consolidated their DVM loans with non-educational loans or loans belonging to an individual other than the applicant, such as a spouse or child, will continue to be ineligible for the VMLRP. In FY 2010, NIFA announced its first funding opportunity for the VMLRP. In the five (5) program cycles since, NIFA has received 858 applications from which 291 VMLRP awards totaling $25,292,341 were issued. Consequently, up to $4,428,150 is available to support this program in FY 2015. Funding for future years will be based on annual appropriations and balances, if any, remaining from prior years. General information regarding the VMLRP can be obtained at the VMLRP Web site: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp. The eligibility criteria for applicants and the application forms and associated instructions needed to apply for a VMLRP award can be viewed and downloaded from the VMLRP Web site at: https://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-requestapplications-rfa. PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 25999 Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of April, 2015. Sonny Ramaswamy, Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture. [FR Doc. 2015–10287 Filed 5–5–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–22–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Natural Resources Conservation Service [Docket No. NRCS–2015–0003] Notice of Proposed Changes to the National Handbook of Conservation Practices for the Natural Resources Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), USDA. ACTION: Notice of availability of proposed changes in the NRCS National Handbook of Conservation Practices for public review and comment. AGENCY: Notice is hereby given of the intention of NRCS to issue a series of revised conservation practice standards in the National Handbook of Conservation Practices. These standards include: Amending Soil Properties with Gypsum Products (Code 333), Animal Mortality Facility (Code 316), Contour Orchards and Other Perennial Crops (Code 331), Controlled Traffic Farming (Code 334), Denitrifying Bioreactor (Code 605), Emergency Animal Mortality Management (Code 368), Field Operations Emissions Reduction (Code 376), Forest Stand Improvement (Code 666), Herbaceous Wind Barriers (Code 603), Irrigation System, Micro-irrigation (Code 441), Roofs and Covers (Code 367), Sprinkler System (Code 442), Vegetated Treatment Area (Code 635), and Vegetative Barrier (Code 601). NRCS State Conservationists who choose to adopt these practices for use within their States will incorporate them into Section IV of their respective electronic Field Office Technical Guide. These practices may be used in conservation systems that treat highly erodible land (HEL) or on land determined to be a wetland. Section 343 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 requires NRCS to make available for public review and comment all proposed revisions to conservation practice standards used to carry out HEL and wetland provisions of the law. DATES: This is effective May 6, 2015. Submit comments on or before June 5, 2015. Final versions of these new or revised conservation practice standards will be adopted after the close of the 30SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\06MYN1.SGM 06MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25998-25999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-10287]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture


Notice of Request for Applications for the Veterinary Medicine 
Loan Repayment Program

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is 
announcing the release of the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 
Program (VMLRP). General information regarding the VMLRP can be 
obtained at: www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp.
    The Request for Applications (RFA) can be obtained at: https://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-request-applications-rfa.

DATES: The fiscal year (FY) 2015 Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment 
Program (VMLRP) application package will be available at: https://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-request-applications-rfa. Applications must be 
received by June 22, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Danielle Tack, VMLRP Program Manager, 
Program Coordinator, Institute of Food Production and Sustainability, 
National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Washington, DC 20024; telephone: (202) 401-6802; fax: 
(202) 720-6486; email: vmlrp@nifa.usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 25999]]

Background and Purpose

    In January 2003, the National Veterinary Medical Service Act 
(NVMSA) was passed into law adding section 1415A to the National 
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1997 
(NARETPA). This law established a new Veterinary Medicine Loan 
Repayment Program (7 U.S.C. 3151a) authorizing the Secretary of 
Agriculture to carry out a program of entering into agreements with 
veterinarians under which they agree to provide veterinary services in 
veterinarian shortage situations.
    On December 16, 2014, the President signed into law the 
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 
113-235), which appropriated $5,000,000 for the VMLRP.
    Section 7105 of FCEA amended section 1415A to revise the 
determination of veterinarian shortage situations to consider (1) 
geographical areas that the Secretary determines have a shortage of 
veterinarians; and (2) areas of veterinary practice that the Secretary 
determines have a shortage of veterinarians, such as food animal 
medicine, public health, epidemiology, and food safety. This section 
also added that priority should be given to agreements with 
veterinarians for the practice of food animal medicine in veterinarian 
shortage situations.
    NARETPA section 1415A requires the Secretary, when determining the 
amount of repayment for a year of service by a veterinarian to consider 
the ability of USDA to maximize the number of agreements from the 
amounts appropriated and to provide an incentive to serve in veterinary 
service shortage areas with the greatest need. This section also 
provides that loan repayments may consist of payments of the principal 
and interest on government and commercial loans received by the 
individual for the attendance of the individual at an accredited 
college of veterinary medicine resulting in a degree of Doctor of 
Veterinary Medicine or the equivalent. This program is not authorized 
to provide repayments for any government or commercial loans incurred 
during the pursuit of another degree, such as an associate or bachelor 
degree. Loans eligible for repayment include educational loans made for 
one or more of the following: loans for tuition expenses; other 
reasonable educational expenses, including fees, books, and laboratory 
expenses, incurred by the individual; and reasonable living expenses as 
determined by the Secretary. In addition, the Secretary is directed to 
make such additional payments to participants as the Secretary 
determines appropriate for the purpose of providing reimbursements to 
participants for individual tax liability resulting from participation 
in this program. Finally, this section requires USDA to promulgate 
regulations within 270 days of the enactment of FCEA (i.e., June 18, 
2008). The Secretary delegated the authority to carry out this program 
to NIFA.
    The final rule was published in the Federal Register on April 19, 
2010 (75 FR 20239). Based on comments received during the 60-day 
comment period upon publication of the interim rule on July 9, 2009 (74 
FR 32788), NIFA reconsidered the policy regarding individuals who 
consolidated their veterinary school loans with other educational loans 
(e.g., undergraduate) and their eligibility to apply for the VMLRP. 
NIFA will allow these individuals to apply for and receive a VMLRP 
award; however, only the eligible portion of the consolidation will be 
repaid by the VMLRP. Furthermore, applicants with consolidated loans 
will be asked to provide a complete history of their student loans from 
the National Student Loan Database System (NSLDS), a central database 
for student aid operated by the U.S. Department of Education. The NSLDS 
Web site can be found at www.nslds.ed.gov. Individuals who consolidated 
their DVM loans with non-educational loans or loans belonging to an 
individual other than the applicant, such as a spouse or child, will 
continue to be ineligible for the VMLRP.
    In FY 2010, NIFA announced its first funding opportunity for the 
VMLRP. In the five (5) program cycles since, NIFA has received 858 
applications from which 291 VMLRP awards totaling $25,292,341 were 
issued. Consequently, up to $4,428,150 is available to support this 
program in FY 2015. Funding for future years will be based on annual 
appropriations and balances, if any, remaining from prior years. 
General information regarding the VMLRP can be obtained at the VMLRP 
Web site: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp.
    The eligibility criteria for applicants and the application forms 
and associated instructions needed to apply for a VMLRP award can be 
viewed and downloaded from the VMLRP Web site at: https://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-request-applications-rfa.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 27th day of April, 2015.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2015-10287 Filed 5-5-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-22-P
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